Escape
by Herenya Brandybuck
Summary: After finding out a heartbreaking family secret, Jessica finds comfort in the most unexpected of plaecs. I stink at summaries!
1. Prologue

Prologue

_Her heart pounded. She saw a faceless man whirl around with a gun in hand. As the trigger was pulled, shots rang out mingled with a baby's cry. To her left, the blurred image of a little boy held tight to a baby girl, tears streaming down his face. Straight in front of her was a TV, of which the screen had been busted out minutes earlier. A little to her right was a woman whose white nightshirt had been stained with blood. As she looked in horror at the blurred figures standing about she saw the man with the gun pull the trigger on himself. A light flashed and she cried out…_

My eyes fluttered open as I found myself lying in bed. I looked over at the clock to find the red numbers to say 3:15am. As my eyes adjusted to the gentle darkness of my bedroom, I sat up and glanced around to the familiar shadows when I heard a soft knock at the door.

"Jess? You alright?" My brother's welcome voice floated through the closed door.

"Yeah, come in." I waited till he sat on the edge of my bed and then sighed. "I had the dream again, Sean."

"The one about the man with the gun?" I nodded and he sighed. I could tell something was weighing heavily on his mind. "Jess, I shouldn't tell you, but…" his voice trailed off.

"But what?

"Now's not the time. You've been watching too much TV lately. Go back to sleep."

"But I can't just go to sleep! You were about to tell me something and I'll bet it had to do with my dream!" My eyes drooped as my face fell into a pout. "Please tell me?"

"Nice try, Jess. Now get over it and go to sleep!" He chucked a pillow at me and I yelped. "Shut up! You'll wake up Mom!" He whispered, and then proceeded to walk away as I dove under the blankets and covered my head with the pillow to protect myself from further attacks.

I peeked out to see him walk out the door. "Cold, Sean, cold. I can't believe you'd walk away without even saying goodnight." I mock glared at him through the darkness as he walked over and bent down to hug me. "G'night, Jess. Sweet dreams—I mean it."

"Night, Sean." Within minutes, I was asleep.

The next morning I was awakened by my mom and Sean talking in the kitchen. "Mom, we've gotta tell her sometime. She can't live her whole life believing he lef—"

"Sean, lower your voice. She could be awake." Mom sounded like she was in tears.

Sean continued in a slightly lowered voice. "Well, she's smart. She's gonna figure it out sometime anyway. Mom, let me tell her. If she keeps having the dream she's gonna know. It's inevitable! Just let me tell her."

Mom blew her nose as I slid out of bed and walked into the kitchen. "Tell me what?"

"Jess, you know how Dad left us a long time ago—"

"Sean, no! It's not that important!" Mom cut in.

"Well, if you say so!" I said, then promptly forgot about it as I fixed breakfast. I didn't think about it anymore that day until I was walking home from school. I mentally went through the entire conversation I overheard that morning over and over and then stopped to consider.

"The dream…Dad…there's gotta be a connection. Oh no…"

I ran home with a feeling of dread hanging over me. Did I want to know the truth? Probably not. The way Mom was crying that morning, and the fact that it involved Dad, who had left us when I was two and hadn't contacted us since, lead me to believe it couldn't be good. But I had to find out. I got home and fixed a snack, reading the note on the refrigerator which said that Mom was gone to the mall and would be back later tonight. I planted myself in front of the TV and waited.

Sometime that afternoon Sean pulled up, home from work. About fifteen minutes later Mom got home from the mall. Now or never, I thought. So after they sat down in the family room I took a breath. "What is it you were going to tell me this morning?"

A blank look crossed over Mom's face and a look of dark recognition came to Sean's. "Well, it's about Dad." Sean began as Mom gasped and then looked defeated.

"Yes…" I prompted, somewhat hesitantly.

"Jessica, you're not gonna like this but I have to tell you. You have to know."

"Have to know what?"

Sean took a breath and continued. "Dad didn't leave us thirteen years ago."

Mom started crying.

"Jessica, he…he killed himself after he shot Mom."

My eyes went wide as I was rendered speechless. "The dream." The words came out in a hoarse whisper. "No…no…" I shook my head as I was unable to deny the harsh truth. "No…no…" I continued to utter as my voice grew. All of a sudden my manner changed from shock to anger and hurt as I realized another truth. These people, my family, had lied to me all my life and I couldn't accept that. Suddenly I started shouting whatever came to mind. "You lied to me!" My voice shook as tears sprang up and tumbled over. "You lied to me! For thirteen years I've believed that I had a good-for-nothing father who walked out on his family and didn't even bother enough to get a divorce! As if that's not bad enough, now you tell me he's a murderer!" I spat the word out and it almost hurt to say it. My voice hushed to a weak whisper. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"We thought—"

"Oh yeah?" I interrupted, suddenly angry again. "What did you think? That I'd appreciate this minor detail kept from me? Didn't you ever stop to imagine I might _want_ to know? Didn't you ever stop to think—" I stopped and looked around, suddenly feeling like I had to get out of there. I rushed out of the house and slammed the door.

Once outside, I ran blindly to the woods in our backyard. I didn't know where I was headed; I just had to be alone. Tears blurred my vision as I ran farther and farther into the woods. Trees smacked me in the face but I didn't care. I just ran. After a while I tripped on a tree root and fell face down on to the ground. I didn't even try to get up. I just let the tears flow.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

I don't know how long I sat there crying. But I finally started to get exhausted. The tears stopped and I just sat there panting. I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing. Soon I was oblivious to everything but the darkness behind my closed eyelids.

I didn't hear anyone come up behind me but the next thing I knew, strong arms lifted me up off the ground. Bewildered, I looked up into the deep green eyes of the most beautiful being I had ever seen. Human-like in appearance, he (for beautiful though he was, there was nothing feminine about him) was tall with golden hair and serene eyes you could lose yourself in. I realized that I was looking at immortality. I was looking at an elf.

Suddenly he spoke in a strange language in a rich, melodic voice that reverberated in my mind.

"Huh?" Intelligent.

He repeated what he had just said.

"I, I don't understand," I said, mesmerized by the beauty of the words that rolled off his tongue.

"Are you okay?" he said, this time in English.

"Uh, yeah, I think," I stammered. "What are you?"

"What am I?"

"I, I mean, um, who are you?"

"My name is Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood Forest. My father's the king."

"Legolas!" I breathed to myself, unable to believe it. "Where am I?" I asked him, even though I already knew what the answer would be.

"Mirkwood. You are not elven, I see. Where are you from?"

"Oh, um, Kentucky."

"Where?" He shook his head. "Never mind. Where are you staying?"

"Um, well, that's kind of the thing. I'm not staying anywhere." I started talking a mile a minute, and I doubt I was making any sense at all. "See, I didn't mean to be here, and I don't know how I got here, and I don't know how to get back, and I'm not so sure I _want_ to get back, and—"

He stopped me. "Why don't you come with me to my father's house and you can tell me everything there."

I nodded and he started walking. I turned to follow him and looked at my surroundings. Until now I hadn't taken my eyes off of Legolas, and I hadn't noticed that I was no longer in my wooded backyard. At home, it was winter, and everything was dried and gray. Here, it appeared to be summer, and the trees were green and thick, so thick that you could hardly see the sunlight. Vines crept up the huge trees, and I had to watch my step so I wouldn't trip over them. I heard rustling in the woods several times, and I figured it must be animals. I had my preconceptions of Mirkwood, having read _The Hobbit,_ but this was nothing like I had imagined. I expected it to be stuffy and evil-looking, but this was merely dark and thick. It also had a kind of ethereal feel to it, as if the place itself was immortal.

I was so caught up in the mystical evanescence that I was startled when his voice broke my thoughts. "What's your name?"

"Huh? Oh! Jessica. Jessica Bremen."

"Jessica," he repeated. I'm sure he was wondering why I start every sentence with the word 'um.' The disgrace of stuttering really was far below the dignity of the elves. "What does it mean?"

"Huh?"

"What does your name mean? Oh, never mind." He turned back to the trail and continued walking.

"Wealthy," I blurted.

"What?"

"Wealthy. That's what my name means."

He turned around, and a slight smile crept its way onto his face. "_Herenya_," he said, the word rolling off his tongue like music. "That's 'wealthy' in Elvish. It suits you." He looked me over and then proceeded down the trail.

After we had walked for some time we came to a river. It was too wide to jump, too deep to step through, and there was no bridge. Legolas began taking a rope off his belt and suddenly whistled. "What are you doing?" I asked, feeling stupid.

"Crossing the river," he answered, as if the answer were obvious.

"With a rope?" I squawked, but then I noticed another elf appearing on the other side of the river, probably in response to his whistle. Legolas tossed one end of the rope to the elf on the other side, then tied his end to a tree. He then lightly walked across the rope to the other side of the river. I was mortified.

"You expect me to be able to do _that_?" I yelled across the river.

He shook his head. "Forgive me. I forget that you have not the skills of our people. But you will cross." He took two more ropes and tossed one end of each of them to me and told me to tie them to a tree. "Walk on the one I crossed and hold on to the other two for balance."

"WHAT?"

"Just do it," he said, obviously amused.

"Well, okay," I said unsteadily. I took a cautious step onto the rope and gripped the other two until my knuckles were white. I tried not to look at the raging river churning below me (actually it was quite calm) and slowly made my way to the other side. When I was almost there my foot slipped and I tumbled into the water.

"Lovely day for a swim," Legolas shouted when I surfaced. I glared at him and his friend as they tried vainly to hold in their laughter. Finally they gave up trying and started howling. Legolas walked over to the bank to help me up. In a moment of decision, however, I yanked on his hand and he came tumbling head over heels into the water.

Now it was my turn to howl in laughter. He came up sputtering and glaring as I smirked at him through my laughter. He pulled himself out of the water and said, "I'm not helping you this time."

I followed him onto the bank and chuckled to myself as he regained his composure and shook out his sopping hair. I did likewise as he introduced the amused newcomer as Ralyin. I reached over and shook his hand and told him my name.

"Let's go. It'll be dark soon." Legolas said, and then once again took up the lead down the path. Ralyin and I followed him. The three of us made no conversation as we walked. I hoped Legolas wasn't the type to hold grudges. I was assured he wasn't, though, when he turned around and smiled at me, almost as if he read my thoughts.

"How far is your house, anyway?" I asked as it started to grow darker.

"Not very far. In fact…" his voice trailed off as we rounded a bend and came to a clearing. "That's it," he said, and pointed to what looked like a huge house carved into a tree. It was no mere tree house, however; it was more like a palace surrounded thickly by trees. The bottom part was like a regular house, or more like a regular mansion. The top part, however, was like the top of a massive tree, an intricate bower of branches and leaves. A network of walkways were worked into the forest-like treetops, and on the other side, where I could barely see, was a balcony-like platform. I made up my mind to see if Legolas would take me up there one day. "What a rooftop!" I whispered to myself in awe. I wondered how complicated it was to build such a bower and then marveled to realize that this was not built. This was natural.

"That's your house?" I said rhetorically.

He grinned. "My father's a king, remember?"

We walked up to the mansion and passed through the intricately carved doors into a great hall. Another elf walked up to us as I stared at the beautiful ceiling.

"King Thranduil," Ralyin said respectfully to the richly dressed elf as I watched Legolas embrace the newcomer, who was indeed his father.

"It's good to have you home, Father," Legolas said as Ralyin whispered to me that the king had been away for a few weeks and had apparently returned while we were in the woods.

I felt a pang when I realized that Legolas was doing something I had never been able to do to my father. He must have noted my uneasiness because he separated from Thranduil and took my elbow, tugging me towards the king. "Father, this is Jessica. I met up with her in the woods today."

"Where are you staying?" the king asked.

"Here," Legolas stated matter-of factly as I grinned shyly.

"Well, we'll be eating soon, so the both of you had better change into some dry clothes," Thranduil said, and Legolas and I both had to stifle a snicker when I remembered why we were both sopping.

"I'll show you to your room where you can change," Legolas offered. I fell into step behind him as he led me through the mansion.

My room was on the fourth floor, across the hall from his. After he opened the door and led me into the magnificent bedroom, he asked the question I knew was inevitable. "Why are you here?"

"I don't know."

"Where are you from? Just tell me everything."

"You're not gonna believe me," I said as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"Try me."

"Well, it's really hard to explain. I don't come from here. Well, I mean, I don't come from Middle-Earth."

He looked quizzically at me, but not skeptically like I expected.

"I come from a totally different world. Like, I don't think any amount of physical traveling would take one from Middle-Earth to my world, and vice-versa." I realized I wasn't making any sense, but he motioned for me to continue.

"See, I don't quite understand what happened. All I know is that I was in the woods in my backyard (in this totally different time and space), and I tripped and fell. The next thing I knew, you were lifting me up and I was in Middle-Earth." When I put it into words it sounded totally ridiculous, but I could at least attempt to make him believe me.

"As crazy as it sounds, _Herenya_, I do believe you. Maybe I'm being too trusting, but I don't think you would lie. Everything points to the fact that your words are truth. Your mannerism, your accent, your clothes—which reminds me. I'm sure you would like some dry clothes before dinner. Do you have any with you?" I shook my head, then he offered to get me some.

"Sure, but do you have anything gender-neutral? I mean, I'm not really into that whole dress thing."

"That whole dress thing?" He sort of laughed, then nodded. "You can wear some of my clothes. I'll go get them."

He left the room and I looked around at this huge bedroom. The color scheme was green and gold (as was the whole palace) with a beautiful four-poster bed with a stunning bedspread against the far wall. Near the bed was a widow looking out into the forest. Other beautiful furniture adorned the room, and a door that led out to the balcony was near the window. I was staring out the window at the beautiful view of the woods when Legolas came up behind me and put the clothes on my bed.

"Come and get me when you've changed and I'll walk you to the dining hall. You can tell me more then. I'll be in my room, which is the one right across from here."

"Okay," I said as he left. I started getting out of my drenched clothes. As I slipped the borrowed shirt over my head, I realized how totally wild this was. I was in Middle-Earth! I was about to dine with King Thranduil. I mean, I was wearing Legolas Greenleaf's clothes for Pete's sake!

After changing, I combed my fingers through my long hair trying to tame it, but eventually gave up. I was just going to have to eat with the king looking like a drowned rat. I looked into the mirror over the desk in the corner, then pulled on the borrowed boots and dashed out the door. I met the elf in the hall in between our rooms.

"Would you like to comb out your hair before we go?" he asked and I burst out laughing.

"Yes, if you don't mind," I said as he slipped back into his room and I followed. He handed me a hairbrush and I proceeded to make myself look halfway presentable.

On our way down to the dining hall, Legolas stopped what appeared to be a servant and said something in Sindarin. The other nodded and walked off. Legolas turned around and explained. "When you return to your room later this evening you should find some clothes and other necessities in your room. No dresses, though," he added quickly, smiling. I laughed as we walked trough the mansion down to the dining hall. Right before we entered he whispered, "I'm going to tell Father about your strange and sudden appearance. Maybe he has some answers."

I nodded, a little nervous now. What if the king wasn't as trusting as his son? What if he didn't believe my story? Most likely I would be taken for a liar and thrown out. Or worse, they would think I was crazy and have me put in some kind of insane asylum. I didn't voice my fears to my elven companion, instead I kept my now heightened fears to myself as I walked beside his tall form. Once at the table, he took his place at his father's right hand, and motioned for me to sit beside him. A brilliant feast was set before us, and I just now realized how hungry I was. The meat and fruit and wine couldn't compare to anything at home. I was so absorbed in the smorgasbord before me that I almost missed Legolas whisper to his father in Sindarin, unnoticed by the elven court assembled at the table. I caught my name mentioned in the dialogue, and I realized that my fate was about to be decided. The conversation ended with Thranduil looking at me with an expression that I couldn't recognize. I ate the rest of the meal in silence and uncertainly, and of course nervousness (if not fear). At the end of the meal, King Thranduil motioned for me to come with him, and Legolas followed. Once out of the dining room, I asked the question I was almost afraid to ask. "Yes, my lord?"

"My son tells me you've arrived among us in a very strange way."

"Yes, my lord." I was trembling.

"Do you not know how you arrived here?"

"No, lord.

"Then it wasn't by your doing that you arrived here?"

"No, my lord, I didn't even know I _could _get here."

The king sighed. "Then we have no choice but to believe you."

"You believe me?"

Thranduil chuckled at my surprise. "Yes, unless you give us a reason not to anytime soon."

"_Herenya,_ did you think that he wouldn't believe you?" Legolas asked, the first words he had spoken in the conversation.

"You elves are far too trusting," I said, shaking my head. "Yes, I thought he wouldn't believe me. I thought you wouldn't believe me either. Heck, I'm not sure if I'd believe it myself, except that at the moment my lip is hurting from when I bit it out of nervousness! I'm sure I'd think I was dreaming!"

Legolas and his father laughed and the king said, "Well, I can assure you that you're not dreaming. In the morning Legolas can show you around the palace and take you through the woods, get you familiar with the ways of our people. I hope you are happy here, as I don't see any way for you to get back at the moment." He paused a minute, then added quickly, "But that doesn't mean you can't get back, it just means that we don't know how to send you back. Yet."

I didn't know if this was good news or bad news, but I did know that I was glad to be here at the moment, and I wasn't even sure that I wanted to go home with all that I had just found out about my dad. I felt unexpected tears well up in my eyes and quickly excused myself. I quickly rushed up to my room and sat on the bed as a tear escaped and trickled down. I wiped it away and scolded myself. "Get a grip, Jess. You're in Middle-Earth. Live it up! Forget about what you're going through at home." Easier said than done. In an attempt to distract myself I walked over to the armoire and looked inside. Among the elven clothes I saw a beautiful sword leaning against the wall of the wardrobe. I picked it up in awe and drew it out of the sheath. It rang as it came out and I brandished it, wishing I could wield it expertly. I slipped it back in the sheath and walked over to the open window, feeling the night air as I looked out upon the moonlit forest.

I walked out the door to the balcony and sat on the ledge of the window. As I looked out into the forest of Mirkwood I thought about my dad. I saw in my mind's eye Legolas embracing Thranduil earlier today and my vision blurred as tears welled up. I thought about how my dad and I could have been such good friends. I thought about all the times in my life that would have been so much easier if I had a father to share them with, and the many more to come. I thought about all the unanswered questions running through my mind, like why did he kill himself? Was he drunk? What was his life like before he killed himself? I covered my face with my hands and sobbed until I heard the door to the balcony open and felt someone sit beside me on the ledge. I looked up at Legolas and wiped away my tears, but they kept coming.

"Would you like to talk about it?" he asked softly.

"Yeah." I took a shaky breath and began to tell him everything I had learned about my broken family earlier that day. I had barely ended when my voice broke and I started crying again. He opened his arms and I fell into his comforting embrace. I sobbed into his chest as he stroked my hair.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I woke up early the next morning, and for a split second before I opened my eyes I thought I had dreamed everything. But as I opened my eyes and sat up in bed I remembered that this was no dream at all. I crossed over to the window, pulled open the drapes, and slid the window open. I hung my head out of the window and spotted Legolas down on the ground among other elves just as he spotted me.

"What took you so long to wake up?" he shouted up at me.

"What took me so long? It's early!"

"I've been up for hours wondering when you would decide to grace us with your presence! Get dressed and I'll spend the day showing you around."

I nodded and closed the window as I realized I was hungry. I hoped breakfast was as magnificent as supper was last night. I wouldn't be surprised if it was better.

I had gotten dressed and I was twisting my long reddish-brown hair into a braid when Legolas knocked on the door. "Come in," I said without looking away from the mirror. "Impatient, are we?"

"Well, I was hungry! You're taking a long time, you know."

"Sor-ry! You could have gone to breakfast without me," I said dryly.

"What if I wanted to be polite and wait for you?"

I stopped, wondering if he was flirting with me. Well, I figured, if he could play that game, then so could I. "I don't see you waiting very patiently," I countered.

He raised his hands in surrender and laughed. "You have me there. Are you done yet?"

"As a matter of fact, I am."

"Well then let's go downstairs. I'm hungry." As he turned to walk out the door, he unexpectedly reached out his hand for me to take. Hoping he didn't notice my surprise, I timidly slipped mine in it and we walked to breakfast.

Despite the comfort of a familiar face walking beside me, the insecure air of a stranger in a foreign land surfaced as we walked downstairs. Legolas must have noticed my discomfort because he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go as we neared the dining hall. As other elves drifted into the dining room, Legolas caught one by the arm as she was walking past and introduced her as Nissiyon. She had reddish-golden hair and sparkling blue-green-gold eyes, with a bubbly personality that made one instantly like her. I, however, must've come across as horribly shy as I nodded hello.

"Legolas told me about you last night. I've been dying to meet you! We've_ got_ to get together and talk sometime! I want to hear all about you and how you got here! I've—"

"Nissiyon, take a breath!" Legolas said to her, then turned to me. "You'll find that friends are plentiful in Mirkwood. Just not all of them are as…well…_excited_ as she is."

I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded and looked down, with kind of a half-grin on my face. I must've looked ridiculous. Legolas, once again, noticed my uneasiness and nudged me into the dining room with a hand on my shoulder. I ate breakfast in silence as Legolas and Thranduil discussed our plans for the day. When we got through, Legolas got up and said, "Shall I show you around?"

I got up and proceeded to follow him. "Did I seem rude?"

"When?"

"With Nissiyon."

"Oh, that. No, you just seemed shy. And there's nothing wrong with that. But tell me. Do you plan on talking with her and satisfying her massive curiosity?"

"Well, I-I don't know."

"I think you should. You two would get along."

"Okay, then. You can tell her where my room is and she can come whenever."

"I will. You need to make some friends."

"Thanks a lot."

"No, no! I didn't mean it like that! I just meant you should get to know some people. I'll introduce you to some others later today." He started to walk. "Come with me. I'll show you around."

As we toured the palace the conversation flowed. I got to know more about the elf I had read about so much in the far off land that was my home, and in talking to him I discovered his personality, good and bad. I learned that he was good with animals but a bit impatient with children, what kinds of foods he liked and the fact that he wasn't a morning person, and that he went hunting with his father and raced horses in the fields when he didn't have anything better to do. He learned a good deal about me too. I assured him that I'm not always the shy, quiet girl I had been lately and that within my comfort zone I was actually brave and bold, impulsive and tomboyish with a mean temper. In fact, as I grew more at ease with the company I was in, this nature was brought out and I became enthusiastic and spirited, a sharp contrast to what I had been. I even felt flirty and I realized maybe I was feeling too at home with this very attractive male elf. It caused me to wonder if maybe I was starting to really like him. We talked for hours as he showed me through the first few stories of the palace.

It wasn't until we were touring the third that we realized that it was a little after noon and we were starving. After we had eaten a big lunch and were walking outside to tour the Forest, we came across a group of young women whom Legolas introduced me to. Among them was Nissiyon, whom I felt at ease with. But I began to feel uncomfortable when he introduced Aranel, a beautiful elf that reminded me of those girls at school who were so beautiful and graceful that you had to hate them, but at the same time wanted to be just like them. I really got antsy when Legolas smiled warmly at her…the same way my brother smiled at his _girlfriend!_

I was standing there trying to figure out whether there was something between them until Legolas wrapped up the conversation and led me down the main road. For the rest of the day we toured Mirkwood Forest, which was really a small community. He showed me the school, the smithy, the gardens, and the shops with only a short break for supper. Near dark we decided to call it a day and we headed in. After saying goodnight we went to our respective rooms. Realizing how tired I was, I flopped down on the bed only to hear seconds later someone knocking rapidly on the door. I groaned and got up. When I opened the door Nissiyon was standing there smiling.

"Legolas told me this would be a good time to talk. I hope you don't mind. He said you might be tired but to go ahead. Did he show you everything? If there's anything you need to know I'll be glad to tell you." She took a breath as if to say something else, but then stopped and grinned sheepishly as if she knew she was talking too much.

"Come on in and have a seat." She plopped down on the edge of the bed and I sat facing her. "Actually this is a good time. I've been looking forward to getting to know more of the people here. So, what did you want to know?"

She then proceeded with a steady stream of questions about where I was from and how I got here. She was considerate in her query, however, because when she was done she asked me if there was anything I wanted to know.

I thought about that afternoon. "Tell me—tell me about Aranel."

"Aranel? Well, she's a Lady in King Thranduil's court-but that's nothing special, she's one of many. She lives a couple of roads down from the palace. She—" Nissiyon stopped, then grinned slyly as she said, "Ohhh, you want to know about what she has to do with Legolas, don't you?"

I, shocked that she had figured this out, debated hiding this from my _excited _informant, but then hesitantly nodded.

"Well, he's been attracted to her for a long time, but she never showed any interest in him. She likes to let him _think_ she does, but then, she lets _all_ men think that. She's a beautiful girl, of course, so men are drawn to her. She comes across as dignified, but those who know her well see past that—" She grinned. "Now I'm getting into gossip. Did that answer your questions?"

"Yes, it did. Thanks." In my mind I was marveling at how similar my world and this were. Yes, Aranel reminded me of many girls I knew and for a moment, I had to hide a smirk.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next day dawned bright and early, like the last. I woke up this time, however, without anything to do. For everybody else in Mirkwood, today was just an average day, with school or work or whatever the people of this realm did all day. But for me, I had nothing to do, nowhere to be, no school, no work, no nothing. I didn't want Legolas to halt everything in his life to entertain me just because he happened to be the one unfortunate enough to find me in the woods the other day.

It was almost eight o'clock and I had just showered when someone knocked on the door. It was Legolas.

"Sleeping beauty, are you up yet?" he hollered through the door.

I yanked the door open and shouted, "What does it look like, ya moe-ron?" Hey, I never said I was a morning person either!

He gave me a quizzical look. "Moe-ron?"

I grinned sheepishly. "It's a southern thing. Sorry. I get kind of grumpy in the mornings."

"I never would have guessed. Listen, I've got some things to do today, so you can either explore and do what you like, or I think Father has something he might like you to do."

"Okay. I'll do anything he wants me to as long as I'm not just sitting around. I have to do something!"

He laughed. "I know what you mean. When you do what I do, there are days that you never get a break, and then there are days where there's nothing at all to do."

"What do you do, anyway?"

"I'm a prince, remember? It just depends on what is going on at the time. For instance, today my father and I have a series of meetings with some advisors and other people about some potentially threatening political unrest in a town just outside the forest borders." He rolled his eyes. "And those meetings get boring, let me assure you. By the way, they start just after breakfast, so you'd better talk to my father about what he wants you to do. That is, if you want to. Knowing my father, if you agree to work, you'll be working until you go home, whenever that is."

"That's okay. I want to make myself productive. At least it's not school." The way Legolas laughed at that made me guess that school was about the same here as it is back home.

We both headed out, and we parted ways when he found someone to talk to along the way. I ate my meal in silence, and when I was through, I headed on to the throne room.

As I timidly made my way toward the king, he noticed me and motioned me to come to him. "I suppose Legolas told you I had something for you to do, if you don't mind?"

"Yessir."

"One of my main messengers is out due to some physical ailments and I'm in desperate need of someone to replace him. Can you ride a horse?"

"Yessir." That was one of the things I was actually good at back home.

"I'm going to warn you, sometimes it can be dangerous, what with highwaymen and bandits, but I doubt you'll have any problems. However," he cleared his throat, "you may want to wear that sword that was given to you, just as a precaution. You seem like the kind that can handle herself."

I nodded, more than happy to finally be doing something, then grinned. "When do I start?"

Within the hour, I had learned more of Mirkwood than I had expected to learn in a month. The king had had another of his messengers take me to a huge room with nothing but maps. The other messenger had showed me all the routes from here to the Lonely Mountain, which was a good month's journey from here. When we were done there, he gave me another hour's worth of sword training, just the very basic stuff like balance. When I felt like I was good enough to keep myself alive when threatened, the elf that had been teaching me took his leave and I rushed up to my room to get ready.

Going through all the elf had said to me about defending myself in my head, I reached in the armoire for the belt with the sword. I strapped it on, then slowly, reverently pulled out the sword (and it made the most beautiful noise shing as it came out) and admired its beautiful silver blade before sliding it back in. Then I draped the forest-green cloak about my shoulders and took a long look at myself in the full-length mirror on the inside of the door of the armoire. Truly, aside from my dark brown hair that hung braided down my back, I looked the part of a great elf warrior. I was wearing a light green cloth shirt underneath everything, brown pants, a brown leather vest, and tall brown boots. The belt, hung comfortably about my waist, fit as if it had been made for me. On the right was, of course, the magnificent blade, and on the left a small dagger. On top of everything, the rich green cloak, pinned with a beautiful gold chain, completed the look. _Yes,_ I thought, _I can do this. _

Then I remembered the king was waiting for me.

All the dignity and poise I had just a split second earlier departed as quickly as I could blink. Tripping over myself, tangling in the cloak, and trying to avoid stabbing myself with the sheath of my sword, I hurried to the door and burst out of it. As I rushed to the throne room, I tried to regain my self-control and appear as composed as I could before appearing in front of the king.

All in vain.

"I'm ready, my lord," I gasped, trying very hard to catch my breath after my ungainly flight down the stairs.

He merely chuckled. "Are you indeed? Well then. I am in a hurry to get to my next meeting, so you'll need to go across the main hall on the third door to your right. It has a sign that says "communications" at the door. They will tell you what to do in there." He got up, and merely said, "Good luck!" Then he walked away.

Trying to remember which room he had told me to go into, I walked down the hall. "Was it left or right?" I muttered.

"You look lost," a voice said behind me, making me jump. I turned around to see Legolas standing there, grinning.

"Okay, so I am. Which room"

"That one." He pointed, and I laughed out loud. There, clearly on a gold plate in the wall, it said, "Communications."

He turned to go, but just before he did, he grabbed my by the arm and winked. "Good luck."

I nodded my thanks, but the elf had already gone on.

I took a breath, though hardly nervous, and pushed open the door. There were three elves standing around a table, one of which was the elf that had worked with me earlier. The tallest of the three spoke. "You're the stand-in for Dalamein, aren't you?"

I nodded, and he began to speak rapidly. "You're about four hours late. Usually we start before breakfast, but this'll do for today. The king told me not to give you too hard or too long a journey on your first day. Here's how things work. The king and other officials occasionally have messages that they have to get to elves in other parts of Mirkwood, especially in times of negotiation such as these. For your first day, you'll be given two. One goes about ten miles down the main road from the palace, the other to go about five miles from that. The round trip should have you back home before dinner."

He filled me in on the specifics of where I would be going, and thanks to my briefing in the map room earlier, I knew exactly where to go. He handed me a pack, with some food for lunch and some water in it. Then he handed me the two messages.

One of the other elves, not the one I knew from earlier but the other one, spoke up to tell me I was ready. "The horse you are to ride will be in the palace stables, the seventh stall on the left. A black horse is waiting for you. His name is Hwesta, which means "breeze" in the High Speech." He paused, and just before I walked out, he said, "Oh, and, compliments of the Lord Thranduil…he's yours."

I walked out with a smile on my face, wondering how I was ever going to thank the king for all his hospitality. I arrived at the stables and was stunned at the beauty of the horse that was in the stall. I checked the name on the stall, and sure enough, engraved on a gold plate, was the beautiful curvy elvish script, and under it, in a translation to the common tongue, it read, "Hwesta."

I opened the door to the stall, and stroked the beautiful black horse. "Well, I guess we're gonna be a team now, aren't we?" I said to him. "You'll help me, won't you? Help me make it here in these strange lands…" I trailed off. Then, deciding it was past time to go, I walked my silent companion out of the stables and onto the road departing from Mirkwood. Eager to begin my new duties, I expertly leaped onto Hwesta's back and nudged him into an easy trot. I knew I should be hurrying if I was to get back before dinner, because it was only nearing eleven, but the road was so beautiful that I wanted to take my time. After about fifteen minutes, I urged Hwesta into a full gallop, and the scenery flew by. Astonished by the speed of the horse, I relaxed, knowing I didn't have to worry about the time.

Within the hour, I reached my destination, which was nothing more than a party of about five or six elves gathered around a fire just off the main road. I delivered the message, and as it was a little after noon, they offered me to sit down and eat lunch with them. I complied, and took my time with it. After I had rested and talked with the elves for about an hour, I decided I needed to be off. I thanked them for their hospitality, mounted Hwesta, and rode on.

At first the road was as easy as it had been all morning, mostly wide and flat. But after about an hour of a nearly steady gallop, I began to see why the elf had said it would be dinnertime before I got home. The path narrowed and became winding and rocky, and Hwesta had to pick his way along. Soon I had to get off his back and walk him, and it was a painstaking process. We stopped frequently, and didn't get to our destination, a camp of about twenty elves up in the hills, until almost three.

When I got to the location where the camp should have been, however, I didn't see any camp. All I saw were trees on the top of the wooded hill. Figuring they were somewhere in the forest, I tied Hwesta to a small tree, and wandered a little off the path.

I sensed something was amiss. I drew my sword, just as a precaution, and began looking behind trees for the elves.

Suddenly, I felt something tickling my neck. I looked back, and in my face was an elven arrow, trained just below my ear! Moving only my eyeballs, I looked from the arrow that was now in between my eyes, to the finely crafted bow, to the arm holding it taut…to the face of one very angry elf!

"Drop the sword." Simply. Firmly. In the Common Speech. I did the only thing I knew to do. I complied.

Daring to speak, I merely squeaked out, "I don't mean any harm!"

The elf sighed and lowered the arrow, though I saw that there were many others trained on me, and likely more that I couldn't see. "You come into our camp unlooked for, uninvited, sword drawn. You are not an elf, yet you are wearing our clothes, wielding our weapon, riding our horse. Despite all this, you say you mean no harm! I believe an explanation is in order." He relaxed expectantly, and I took this as my cue to begin speaking, and fast.

"I am delivering a message from the king of Mirkwood. I am riding in the place of the one called, er, Dalamein. Here." With trembling fingers, I pulled the last message out of my belt and thrust it into the hands of the not-so-amused elf.

He broke the seal and looked at it. His expression softened. "I apologize, and I can say the same for my comrades," here he looked at them and they all lowered their bows. "You must forgive me. But you can understand how we would want to be cautious," he said, then smiled amiably. Then he bent down and picked up my sword, laying on the ground. He spun it up in the air, then caught it and handed it to me, hilt first. "I thank you for your service to the king, but I will not keep you at your inconvenience any longer, for the shadows grow long and you must be in a hurry to get going."

I looked at the sky, and it looked to be about a quarter after three. Which wasn't too late, but I did need to be heading back to the palace if I was to make it before dinner. I sheathed my sword, thanked them, and took my leave.

As I made my way down the mountain, leading my new friend Hwesta, I thought about how this day had had more excitement and adventure than I had in the fifteen years of my life back home.

_Yes, _I thought, looking out at the beautiful mountainous landscape before me, _I could get used to this._


End file.
